Published: May 17, 2017, 09:04 AM (IST)
Edited: May 17, 2017, 09:04 AM (IST)
Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma was a dejected man after his side lost Qualifier 1 against Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in the 2017 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). MI were chasing 163 for a place in the final, but fell apart as RPS’ bowlers restricted them to 142 for 9 in 20 overs. Apart from Parthiv Patel (52 off 40 balls), no other batsmen got going during a modest chase as RPS entered the final of IPL for the first time. They will be facing the winner of Qualifier 2 on Sunday to lift their first title. Rohit blamed the batting collapse for the defeat and termed it as the ‘worst performance of the season’. Full Cricket Scorecard: Mumbai Indians vs Rising Pune Supergiant, IPL 2017, Qualifier 1 at Mumbai
At the post-match conference, Rohit stated, “Having seen the scores chased at Wankhede, I think 160 was below par. I thought we didn’t bat well. [This was] our worst performance of the season so far. We need to build small partnerships when we are chasing. We always knew the wicket will play slow. I think it was not a flat wicket where you can play shots on the rise. I think RPS bowlers really bowled well. Losing wickets in the middle is very tough. The shot becomes very important. You need to understand the situation and the conditions. And respect them.
“We need to go back to the basics. Take the game till the end. We didn’t, and lost by 20 runs. We have lost games before. It is not the end of the world. We are gonna go back and see what we can do in Bangalore”, concluded Rohit.
In Qualifier 2 on Friday, MI will meet the winner of Eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.
